Allergen sensitization stratifies IL-31 production by memory T cells in atopic dermatitis patients

Sans-de San Nicolás, Lídia; Figueras-Nart, Ignasi; García-Jiménez, Irene; Bonfill-Ortí, Montserrat; Guilabert, Antonio; Curto Barredo, Laia; Bertolín Colilla, Marta; Ferran Farrés, Marta; Serra-Baldrich, Esther; Pujol Vallverdú, Ramon Maria; Santamaria-Babí, Luis F.

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1124018

Allergen sensitization stratifies IL-31 production by memory T cells in atopic dermatitis patients

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Sans-de San Nicolàs L, Figueras-Nart I, García-Jiménez I, Bonfill-Ortí M, Guilabert A, Curto-Barredo L, Bertolín-Colilla M, Ferran M, Serra-Baldrich E, Pujol RM, Santamaria-Babí LF. Allergen sensitization stratifies IL-31 production by memory T cells in atopic dermatitis patients. Front Immunol. 2023 Mar 13;14:1124018. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1124018

Abstract

Background: The role of allergen sensitization in IL-31 production by T cells and specifically in the clinical context of atopic dermatitis (AD) has not been characterized. Methods: The response to house dust mite (HDM) in purified memory T cells cocultured with epidermal cells from AD patients (n=58) and control subjects (n=11) was evaluated. AD-associated cytokines from culture supernatants, plasma proteins and mRNA expression from cutaneous lesions were assessed and related with the clinical features of the patients. Results: HDM-induced IL-31 production by memory T cells defined two subsets of AD patients according to the presence or absence of IL-31 response. Patients in the IL-31 producing group showed a more inflammatory profile, and increased HDM-specific (sp) and total IgE levels compared to the IL-31 non-producing group. A correlation between IL-31 production and patient's pruritus intensity, plasma CCL27 and periostin was detected. When the same patients were analyzed based on sp IgE and total IgE levels, an increased IL-31 in vitro response, as well as type 2 markers in plasma and cutaneous lesions, was found in patients with sp IgE levels > 100 kUA/L and total IgE levels > 1000 kU/L. The IL-31 response by memory T cells was restricted to the cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen (CLA)+ T-cell subset. Conclusion: IgE sensitization to HDM allows stratifying IL-31 production by memory T cells in AD patients and relating it to particular clinical phenotypes of the disease.